The memoirs of novelist, poet, essayist, and translator Rafael Cansinos-Asséns recreate the intellectual and bohemian life of Madrid between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Against the background of the main events of the time, we see a parade of notable figures, including Alejandro Sawa, Villaespesa, Rubén Darío, Valle Inclán, Antonio and Manuel Machado, Juan Ramón, Colombine, Santos Chocano, Blanco-Fombona, Zamacois, Felipe Trigo, Blasco Ibáñez, and others.